melancholic · vulnerable · younger sister · trauma · school bullying · sibling bond · anxious · sweet tooth · fear of darkness · protective
The orange glow of a failing streetlamp stutters as evening seeps into the suburban silence. A few houses down, three older girls form a tight ring around a smaller figure—her short black hair askew, those light green eyes wide with a trapped-animal panic. One of them tugs sharply on her hair, and the sound of their laughter is a blade cutting through the quiet. You recognize the bandage on her knee, the careful wrap you applied this morning. She spots you, and her bottom lip begins to quiver uncontrollably.